inlay chris
5th May 2016, 01:59 AM
I've been trying to cast intricate ormolu mounts for the miniature furniture I make..
I've worked out the modelling, wax injecting OK and am very happy with this part but the metal is my big problem...
Firstly I bought myself a spin casting machine and burnout kiln, OK so far..
I then tried and failed to melt brass, the castings have to be gold anyway and it seemed the obvious choice. Sadly I've been unable to melt it effectively. I've used propane, butane and mapp gas which worked to a degree but was still unreliable. I thought the trouble was the small crucible dissipating the heat.
With this in mind I started using aluminium to start with and then pewter because of the low melting point...I now have serious electro plating problems which has been driving me mad...
Yesterday I bought a rothenberger oxy propane setup thinking this should surely crack the problem but still won't melt the brass. How much more time and money do I have to spend solving this 10 year problem? Any ideas would be very welcome.
It can be any gold coloured metal....
I've worked out the modelling, wax injecting OK and am very happy with this part but the metal is my big problem...
Firstly I bought myself a spin casting machine and burnout kiln, OK so far..
I then tried and failed to melt brass, the castings have to be gold anyway and it seemed the obvious choice. Sadly I've been unable to melt it effectively. I've used propane, butane and mapp gas which worked to a degree but was still unreliable. I thought the trouble was the small crucible dissipating the heat.
With this in mind I started using aluminium to start with and then pewter because of the low melting point...I now have serious electro plating problems which has been driving me mad...
Yesterday I bought a rothenberger oxy propane setup thinking this should surely crack the problem but still won't melt the brass. How much more time and money do I have to spend solving this 10 year problem? Any ideas would be very welcome.
It can be any gold coloured metal....